Lebanon's central bank says spent over $800m on fuel in last month

The Lebanese central bank said on Thursday it had told the government a year ago that it would need new legislation to use a mandatory currency reserve, after announcing an effective end to the subsidies it has been providing for fuel imports.

The central bank said that, while it had spent more than $800 million on fuel in the last month and the bill for medicines had multiplied, those goods were still absent from the open market, and being sold at prices that exceed their value.

"This proves the necessity of moving from subsidising commodities, which benefits traders and monopolists, to supporting citizens directly," the bank said.

(Reuters)